Do you know what I mean by “gotcha questions?” These are the questions designed to trap, trick or zap a candidate. These types of questions are often used by interviewers who believe they need to “win” the interview. I know it sounds odd and uncommon (I certainly hope it is), but I have sat through interviews where the gotcha questions have been asked. Interview questions are a tricky sort. Almost everyone enjoys reading interview questions in hope of discovering an effective one. However, we incorporate assessments into our process which provides an x-ray of the candidate’s abilities, motivations, aptitudes, style, etc. The power in this approach is that it identifies… Read More
Continue ReadingDoing Or Helping
This may sound like a fine delineation, but I thought it was rather profound. One of our customers mentioned that he had people who could “do” certain tasks in a hiring process. However, these people were not able to provide “help” in the hiring process. That may sound like he is splitting hairs, but I find that point to be extremely important. One of the struggles in assisting companies in their hiring process is that most companies, unless quite large, tend to hire on a need basis. This means they do not spend their entire time hiring. In fact, it often is pushed into the margins of their day. Other… Read More
Continue ReadingEmployment Still Lagging
The latest employment numbers are out and it doesn’t look good (emphasis mine). US employers added 430,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in May, but 411,000 of those were temporary census workers. That number was also well short of the more than 500,000 economists had expected. The unemployment rate, however, fell to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent in April. I still don’t expect to see significant hiring gains until Q4 of this year at the earliest. My highly non-scientific polling (talking to customers) shows that most are still in a tentative mode. Perhaps some more enlightened analysis will surface later today.
Continue Reading2010 Hiring Trends
From the Herman Group newsletter: According to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Surveys, the US will have a year-over-year increase of about five percent with a record-tying 73 percent of employers keeping staff levels stable. Twelve of the 13 industry sectors surveyed report positive net employment outlooks, meaning employers in most industry sectors plan to add staff during the second quarter. The only sector expecting negative growth is Government, however with the passage of the recent healthcare legislation, we believe that may not be an accurate forecast. Moreover, among the 201 local metropolitan statistical areas surveyed, “94 percent indicate a positive or neutral net employment outlook, indicating cautious optimism is… Read More
Continue ReadingOnline Job Ads Down
Recently Cheezhead mentioned that online job ads are down again in November. According to the Conference Board Help-Wanted Online Data Series online job postings declined 70,200 to 4,369,200 in November. Job postings for the September to November period were down 264,000. The data they collected shows declines in the Northeast, the South and the West. In the Northeast Pennsylvania lead with a decline of 19,900 postings and in the south Texas lead with a decline of 37,800. Our state, Minnesota, had the largest decline in the midwest – down 12,600 postings.
Continue ReadingQ2 Hiring To Remain Consistent
That title probably got your attention. The economy is completely dynamic so things can change, but the quarterly CareerBuilder.com/Harris Interactive survey came back with some surprising results (my editing). “The job loss reported in the first quarter signified a gradual deceleration in recruitment in the U.S. as the nation’s economy downshifted,” says CEO, Matt Ferguson. “In the next three months, employers anticipate marginal change in their hiring pace. While some industries are experiencing a contraction in employment levels, areas such as information technology, healthcare, professional and business services and sales continue to add full-time jobs.” …29% of employers state plans to grow their number of full-time, permanent employees from April… Read More
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